Cornyn: 'We will raise the debt ceiling'

By Joe Holley :
January 17, 2013

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the Republican whip, said in Houston Thursday that Congress will not allow an impasse over raising the debt ceiling to result in the federal government defaulting on its spending obligations.

“We will raise the debt ceiling. We're not going to default on our debt,” Cornyn said while meeting with the Houston Chronicle editorial board.

In an opinion piece in the Chronicle last week, Cornyn wrote that shutting down parts of government may be the solution to solving the nation's fiscal problems.

“It may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long-term fiscal well being of our country, rather than plod along the path of Greece, Italy and Spain,” he wrote.

Cornyn's fellow Republicans, particularly in the House, have been trying to use the issue of the debt ceiling to force President Obama to agree to spending cuts. Obama has insisted that if Congress refuses to raise the debt limit, the nation will default on its spending obligations, including veterans' benefits and Social Security payments.

“I will tell you unequivocally, we're not going to default,” Cornyn said Thursday.